St Francis of Assisi Catholic Church Newcomers Page

Welcome Newcomers

Pastor: Fr. Jose Thomas Mudakodiyil

I am very happy to welcome you to our exciting St. Francis of Assisi Parish Website. Our intent is to reach you wherever you are. This will help us to stay connected as a Church family, even when you cannot be physically present in the Church with the rest of the Church community. This website will give you an amazing overview of the Church and its activities. I hope you will find it useful and can find all the information you are looking for. We have tried to make it as informative and user-friendly as possible. I want to invite you to browse through the various pages of our website.

Our Church offers a number of ministries in which you can get involved in the Church. It is my prayer that all the parishioners who browse through this website will be inspired to get involved in one or more ministries in our Church. Please give it some thought and prayer. All that we have comes from God. Let us give back to him as good stewards by sharing our time, talent, and material resources with the Church. "Give, and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing will be poured out into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will, in return, be measured out to you” (Luke 6:38). Have a great time browsing through the pages of this website.

Fr. Rogatian Urassa was born in the Rombo District of the Kilimanjaro region in Northern Tanzania. He graduated from St. James Junior Seminary in Philosophy and then graduated in Theology from St. Augustine’s Major Seminary, which is located near the Benedictine Monastery in Southern Tanzania. He was ordained a priest in 1983 at Christ the King Cathedral in the Diocese of Moshi, Tanzania. He has worked in different ministries, mainly as Pastor in parochial territories in three dioceses of Tanzania before moving to the United States.

Fr. Roga worked in the Diocese of Boise, Idaho, for five years when his application was accepted to join the Diocese of Baker. He worked in Boardman, Oregon, at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish as Administrator for one year after which he became Pastor of the Sacred Heart Church in Klamath Falls for 19 years until this transfer to St. Francis.

Fr. Roga speaks English and Spanish in addition to his original languages: Kichaga and the regional language of Swahili spoken in East Africa. In his spare time, he enjoys watching sports, fishing, golfing, and caring for his flower garden.

Fr. Rogatian Urassa

Deacon Philip McCarty

Deacon Phil and Kerry McCarty have recently relocated to Bend from San Jose, CA.

Deacon Phil is a San Francisco Bay area native and is semi-retired from a career in management and sales. He was ordained a permanent deacon for the diocese of San Jose in 2018, and he has served at St. Leo the Great Parish in San Jose since then.

Kerry is a native Oregonian, having grown up in the Medford area. She is a University of Oregon alumna, and she is retired from a career in residential real estate.

Deacon Phil and Kerry have been married for 31 years, and they have two adult sons. Their older son, Andrew, lives in San Francisco, and their younger son, Alex, lives in New York City.

Deacon Phil and Kerry McCarty are avid fans of the San Francisco Giants and the Oregon Ducks, and they are excited to call Bend their new home.